


Across the Stars

by PrincessLeeah



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship/Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 05:47:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8878330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessLeeah/pseuds/PrincessLeeah
Summary: Just a couple of kids who attract nothing but trouble.





	1. I.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my story that I am transferring from Wattpad.

"You'll be a lot safer in here, princess." The Naboo Royal Guardsman said as he pulled the young girl towards the ladders and shielded her as she began to climb the stairs. There was no danger in the Hangar as of yet, but he seemed to be on the tips of his toes.

As the guard had helped the Princess into the cockpit, the sounds of blasters rang out. He jumped down and came out to the front of the fighter and ran in to support Queen Amidala and her bodyguards as they rushed through the hangar and engaged in a blaster battle with a few droids. As the girl sat there with her head ducked low enough so as not to get caught by any stray plasma energy, a boy and a R2 unit ran up to the ship. The blonde hair boy jumped into the pilot seat while the droid had loaded into place on the ship.

"Who are you?!" The girl shouted just loud enough for the boy to hear her over the blaster sounds. He turned and poked his head behind his seat to see where that voice was coming from.

"Who are you?!" The boy asked back confused, but was interrupted when he heard more blaster sounds, this noise coming from the three droidekas that had entered the hangar. The Princess looked over at the Naboo Queen, as she and her crew ran off to the side to avoid being hit.

"We have to do something!" The brown haired girl said to the boy, who was looking over at the Queen. The droid in the back beeped frantically to which the boy started to push random buttons at the front.

"I'm trying to! I don't know where the trigger is!" He said back, frustrated that nothing he was pushing was working. He pushed a few more buttons when an even louder noise started up. The boy had started the ships engines and the star ship slowly started to move forward.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." The Princess says as the boy starts panicking.

"Oops, wrong one. Maybe it's this one?!" He says as he pulls down a lever and seals off the cockpit.

"Nope." He said as he watched the glass move above them.

"Argh! What are you doing up there?!" The girl yelled out as consoles started to light up.

"Well I don't hear you helping out back there!" He retorted. She look around and noticed one of the consoles was trying to lock on to something. Grabbing the control in front of her, she began to push the buttons on it rapidly. They shook a few times as the ship slowly spun around to face head on with the droids and right into the line of fire. One droid must have went down as the boy in the front whooped, and the targeting system started to track another enemy. The next one went down faster than the first one, and by the time the third one went down they even didn't notice that the ship was slowly leaving the hangar. The Princess looked over at the Queen who took off into the palace armed and ready to take back control of her home world.

"Hey, we took down those things. You can put us down now." The brown haired girl said over her shoulder.

"Uhhh - it's on automatic pilot" The blonde boy stammered while the astro-mech beeped in alert. The girl was thrown forward as she felt the ship ascend into the sky. She climbed back into her seat and watched in horror as the palace became smaller and smaller.

"Can't you switch it off or something?!" She screamed, becoming more frightened the further up they went. Soon they would be leaving the planets mesosphere and entering outer space.

"I'll try and override it." He says as he grabs the pilots helmet under his seat. The girl looked around and found one under her own seat. She threw it on, the headset within made it easier for her to hear him out there. The Princess looked out once more and saw Naboo. It wasn't her first time seeing the planet itself, but it is her first time seeing it from the backseat of a two man Star fighter. It was a lot more scarier being out in space in such a small ship.

The R2 unit starts beeping again just as the scanners on the console started picking up other ships.

"That's where the auto pilots' taking us!" The boy pointed in front of himself. A huge space station was seen coming into view and seemed to be having a battle of it owns, just like on Naboo.

The children neared a group of Naboo Star fighters and the ship automatically came into formation with them. The closer in range they got to them, the more the both of them could listen in to their chatter. One pilot complained about some deflector shield, and not long after, a ship in front of the kids star ship exploded. Their ship rocked as enemy ships starting zooming and shooting all around the pair.

"R2 get us off this auto pilot. It's going to get us all killed!" The boy demanded, as the astro-mech beeped at him. The autopilot was putting them right in the middle of the fight. His console went from red to blue signalling that auto pilot had been switched off.

"You did it R2!" The kid congratulated the droid.

"Are you kidding me?!" The girl exclaimed in disbelief, not quite believing that all this boy had to do was ask.

"Why didn't you ask him to do that before?!"

"I'm sorry!" He yelled back, but she somehow felt that he wasn't that sorry. He sounded like he was having fun. Well, it was nice to know someone was having fun.

"You take control of the guns and I'll do the piloting! I've flown a few pod racers before. I promise we'll get out of this one!" He reassured.

"Pod racers and Star fighters are two very different things!" The Princess said as she looked around at all the buttons and switches. 

"It can't be that much different. " He claimed, looking down at his own dashboard, grabbing onto the piloting stick. "Okay, let's try left." He said as he pulled his control stick to the left, causing the ship to lurch to the left. All this high speed was starting to give the girl some kind of sickness.

"Just do what you did in the hangar on Naboo and we'll make it through this." he said. She felt a warm presence radiate from the boy, like she could trust him to get them back in one piece. The girl grabbed onto her control stick as he started to fly around. She shot a few rounds, occasionally hitting something, but not enough to do any real damage.

The R2 droid started to communicate with the boy who just disregarded whatever it had to say.

"Go back? Qui-Gon told me to stay in this cockpit and that's what I'm going to do." He said with an air of finality, as he guided them around the battle station.

"What is he talking about? Did he say to go back? Because I think he is very wise and we should listen to him." The Princess says as she tries to concentrate on trying to hit something. She now knew why the other pilots were complaining about the deflector shields. The space station was taking no damage, but the Naboo fighters were dying ... and fast. The console started beeping as the scanners showed that they had picked up a few followers. With less and less Naboo fighters out there, the enemy would soon outnumber them and be able to pick the stragglers off.

"I'm gonna need you take out those ships!" He yelled back at his gunner as he struggled to to keep the ship out of enemy range. She fired the ships canon, which completely went off target. With the ship moving as much as it was, it was no wonder why she wasn't landing those shots. That and the fact that she was only a nine year old kid, who should be at home right now, but is fighting in a space war.

"Can't you - I don't know - keep the ship stabilized or something!" She lashed out in frustration as none of her blasts were hitting their mark. It was obvious this kid was not going to be taking them home until they finished this thing.

"Would stopping right here help?" He scoffed, laughing into the mic.

"Ha - ha - ha" The Princess said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I hope to see that sense of humor in the afterlife."

He laughed again, seemingly enjoying her unsuccessful attempts at doing anything helpful.

"Well if you can't get rid of them then I'll try spinning! That's a good trick!" Before she could even respond, the ship started in a deep downward spiral towards the top of the space station. The Princess started screaming while gripping onto the control stick even harder, accidentally pressing down on the trigger button as they spiraled away from the enemy. By some miracle she managed to hit two of the droid Star fighters. He laughed as they leveled out again.

"Don't you dare do that again!" The brown hair girl threatened from the backseat as she tried to calm herself down. She felt clammy, something was definitely going to come out soon. If a droid didn't kill her, a heart attack was surely going to finish the job.

"See? You got them!" He beamed from the front as he continued to try and evade the last droid ship. His smile fell from his face when they felt a bump, and his astro-mech started making noises like it was screaming.

"Uh-oh"

"Uh-oh? WHAT UH-OH?" The girl yelled back at him, as the dashboard started flashing like crazy.

"I think we were hit!" He exclaimed as the ship started into another spiral, this time heading towards the hangar entrance of the space station. This time the three of them screamed as the Princess closed her eyes shut, the dizziness getting worse by the second. They spun out of control and right through the enemies' hangar, with the boy somehow managing to navigate them through without hitting any of the stationed ships. R2 beeped frantically at the boy.

"I'm trying to stop!" He yelled back as the trio approached a large wall at very high speeds, skidding along the ground before finally coming to a stop. The droid beeped questioningly at the kid.

"Everything's overheated" he reported as he looked around at all the consoles. The ship had completely shut down. 

He noticed that a swarm of droids were starting to flank the ship as he was flipping switches, trying anything to get the ship started again. The Princess opened her eyes and swayed a bit in her seat before she grabbed someone's bag that had been left in the ship and puked right into it. It wasn't much but it was definitely embarrassing when the boy poked his head over the seat to look at the disheveled girl.

"I'm sorry" he said genuinely. "I'll get us out of this, I promise." he said once again.

"Oh yes, because you've done a terrific job so far." She said sarcastically as the boy turned back to sit down again. He smiled as he started pushing buttons again. The ship's engines started whirring back to life as the consoles on the dashboard lit up.

"Hey! I've kept us alive this far." He commented as he prepared for departure. The droids surrounded the ship in confusion, not quite knowing what to do with the lone ship. They were told that the station was impenetrable.

"Then you'll be able to get us out of this mess by yourself then?" The girl said indignantly. He laughed his same boyish laugh.

"Don't be like that. It'll take both of us to make it home alive co-pilot." He called behind his back. The Princess didn't know why but once again it brought a sort of calmness to her. He was actually a pretty good pilot, considering that only adults flew these Star fighters and the fact that we weren't dead, which in her books, makes you a great pilot.

"R2 shields up." He commanded the astro-mech. As soon as they lifted into the air, the droids started shooting. Thankfully the R2 unit had put the shields up just in time. The boy slowly had the ship spin to face towards the exit, all the while the Princess was blasting the droids as the ship spun.

"Take that!" The boy exclaimed as droid after droid went down. The kids giddiness was contagious as she started to see why he was having fun. This was a whole lot better than sitting at home listening to your parents scolding her; or berating her about whether or not she was doing things right.

She continued blasting droids, laughing with the boy in front as they prepared to take off. Getting caught up in all the excitement, the girl accidentally pulled back on the control stick, which made two huge blasts exit from the back of the ship. These were much larger than the ones on the front, and flew for a while before colliding with a large pillar at the far end of the space station.

"Oops..."

"Oops? Oops what?" He said, copying what she had said to him before. The girl took a look and saw the pillars that the blasts' collided with, collapse and explode. One after another like a chain reaction, each pillar start doing the same as the first.

"I don't know, but it's not good." She answered back. The boy noticed the explosions and disengaged the brakes.

"Let's get out of here."

The R2 unit beeped in agreement and the boy flew the three of them through the station hangar. The trio flew as fast as they could through the exploding space station, listening in to the radio chatter of the other fighter pilots who were in disbelief. They couldn't understand how they were so close to losing and now their biggest wish was coming true right in front of them. The Princess held on tight as the Star fighter reached what she assumed was it's highest speed, trying to avoid getting caught inside the station when it inevitably implodes. With this much damage, there was no way there would be any survivors within.

"Just like pod racing" The boy exclaimed feeling a rush of adrenaline. The area around the ship turned black as they shot out of the space station and into open space. As the children were fleeing, enemy stragglers were attempting to shoot them down. The girl grabbed on to the control stick and and concentrated on them. Her focus was so deep that her mind blocked out all the noises around her, and although the ship was racing through space fast, it felt as if time had slowed down. She aimed at the droids and fired three times, each one landing a perfect shot on each straggler. Her eyes widened as she saw each one explode.

"How did you do that?! Those shots should've been harder to take than the ones before!" The boy said in awe as the blips on the scanners suddenly disappeared. The girl looked out at where she had shot those ships down and furrowed her brows in confusion.

'What was that feeling?...'

Their ship was coordinated to head back to Naboo and as she looked out the Princess saw the other ships falling in behind the kid's Star fighter. The radio chatter was filled with whooping and cheering as the battle station imploded behind them, destroying anything within the blast radius. They felt their ship rock a little bit from the shock wave but continued on their home bound journey. It didn't really hit the girl what they had done until the boy in the front spoke up.

"See! I told you I would get you back." He patted himself on the back. The Princess rolled her eyes as she looked out and below. They passed over the battlefield where the Gungan's had gone to fight the droids and saw that they were also in celebrations. Droids were either in pieces all over the floor or just standing still.

"Hey co-pilot, what's your name?" The boy asked as they came into view of the palace. He made proper preparations for landing this time as his droid started to beep ecstatically at the thought of being able to get off the ship.

"Kirin" The brown hair girl answered as she laughed, somewhat being able to tell that the robot was sassing the boy by the tones of it's beeps. The boy starting arguing back to the droid as he came to land their ship into the main hangar that they were in before . Seems like he needed a bit of practice in landing procedures as he parked a lot more crooked than any of the other pilots, and the fact that their landing gear wasn't even out so they basically just plopped the ship on the floor of the hangar. But it didn't seem to bother anybody as they were all too busy running around celebrating. As the children started to unbuckle themselves, the cockpit opened and Kirin took this moment to take a good look at the boy.

"Kirin huh?" The boy held out his hand as an invitation. He smiled warmly at the girl, causing her to subconsciously lift her hand to accept his handshake.

"I'm Anakin. Anakin Skywalker."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Sorry that this was very rushed, but the beginning of a story has always been the hardest part for me as I never know how to start things off. I just wanted to get something out there now before I changed my mind and rewrite it for the 7th time. There were at least 3 different routes this story was going to go. I decided to change to third person (was in first person) so there are definitely going to be a whole lot of errors.


	2. II.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another chapter that I have moved over from Wattpad. This one was also edited to third person (from first person)

Having parked quite a distant from the nearest ladder, Anakin suggested that they both jump down to the runway below.

"Sure." Kirin said as she looked over the edge. "Which body part should I break on the way down."

"It's easy." He says as he hangs over the edge of the cockpit. He takes a look over and frowns, not quite noticing before how high these things were. Maybe a grown adult could take the fall, but Kirin doubted they could make it.

It wasn't long before people started noticing the two children struggling to exit the Star fighter. Pilots rushed over to help the pair down, looking over them to check that neither were hurt.

"Wha- You mean to tell me that a couple of kids destroyed that thing!" One pilot exclaimed, dumbfounded as he check the Star fighter the kids just came out of, which was exactly the ship they saw exiting the Trade Federation space station that was in control of the droids.

"That's right!" Anakin announced beaming as a crowd started gathering around.

"That's impossible!" Another spoke up in disbelief. "You're just kids!"

"Hey! I'm one of the best pilots where I came from-" Anakin barked back at the adults, clearly offended. He looked over and pointed at his brown haired companion. "-and if it wasn't for her and her shooting, who knows where we would be."

Two men came running into the hangar towards them and stopped at the damaged Star fighter.

"What in the world?! Where have you been!" One of the men patted the ship, giving it a look over to see the extent of the damage. They must have been the original pilots of the ship. The other guy came over to where the crowd of pilots were looking down at the children.

"What's going on here?" The newcomer asks.

"Looks like these kids just saved our behinds." The first pilot, a more experienced and war hardened man, looked down at the two kids and smiled. He extended his hand to each of them, to which they took with honor. The rest of the pilots continued on with cheering as they patted their heads, asking all sorts of questions like what their names were and how they managed to get inside the space station. Anakin took the lead and retold everything that had happened while they were up there, thankfully leaving out the part where Kirin vomited. Which reminded her that she needed to be as far away from this spot when the original pilots decide to retrieve their items.

"-and then we came flying right out of there, but we had a few more stragglers following us." The boy demonstrated with one hand being their ship and the other hand being the enemy. "Then Kirin blasted them right then and there. Three shots and it took all of them out. It was so wizard!" He claimed as he motioned over towards the Princess and continued on. He was a natural charmer and everyone was so caught up in his story that they didn't realize the Queen and her entourage had entered the hangar.

"Ani." A handmaiden of the Queen called out. She motioned him over towards where she and the handmaidens stood behind Queen Amidala. The pilots silenced themselves and bowed towards the Queen, who walked over to them. The handmaiden looked over at Kirin in confusion.

"Kirin?" She asked and said girl slowly nodded. The only person she had met before was the Queen, Kirin hadn't even met any of her handmaidens well enough to exchange names. 

The handmaiden motioned for the younger girl to follow her as she and Anakin separated from the Naboo Queen, walking through the doorway that lead towards the palace. Kirin looked back as the crowd of Star pilots were now being commended for their service and getting a speech from the Queen and a man who she remembered to be Captain Typho.

"Padmé! You should've seen me." The boy boasted as they followed the handmaiden. Kirin rolled her eyes as she could already tell he had some feelings towards this girl just by the tone of his voice. He went through another retelling of the story, which made the handmaiden smile at him, but for some reason Kirin felt she wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. She could sense some sort of discord within her, a sort of sadness, which confused the young girl. Naboo had just won against the bad guys right?

More importantly, how was she sensing this? This was the same feeling she had when she was on the Star fighter with Anakin.

"Hey kid, can you quit with the story? You can continue when I'm no longer around to hear it." The Princess tells him as she's now gotten tired of listening to him go on about it. He looked at the nine year old girl with an annoyed expression.

"I told you my name is Anakin." He lectured. "And you're just as much a kid as I am."

Kirin ruffled his hair which seemed to tick him off even more.

"Uh-huh, whatever you say Ani~" She mocked in a sweet voice, similar to the handmaidens' voice. Luckily the handmaiden was walking in front of the pair and she had said it low enough for only Anakin to hear. His face went red but Kirin couldn't tell if it was from him being angry or embarrassed that she was teasing him about his obvious crush. He was right though, despite her being a couple of inches taller than him, they were still the same age.

The children continued to argue, occasionally making threats behind the maiden's back so as not to get in trouble. The more Kirin teased him about the girl, the redder he would get. They had made it to a room that the kids hadn't been to before and the handmaiden, whose name Kirin assumed was Padmé, put her finger up to her lips to hush the noisy pair.

"Where are we?" The smaller girl asked as the maiden opened the door and motioned them in.

"You're parents are inside." She said giving no more information than that, so Kirin peeked a look inside and spotted her mother near the door that lead off to a balcony, where she could vaguely make out the figure of her father. As she started to run off towards them, the Princess spotted someone else behind the door. It was a young man, looking down at an older man who was laying down on the table. Kirin's mother ushered her away and held her close. Anakin walked in with Padmé coming in right behind him and closing the door.

"Anakin..." The young man looked over at the smaller boy. He looked like he had been crying, and it wasn't hard to figure out why, as the man on the table had a hole going through him. Anakin came and stood besides the blonde hair man, while Padmé walked up behind and placed an arm around each of them in support. Kirin's mother turned her daughter around so as to block her view from their private moment.

-

 

Kirin was eventually moved out to the balcony where her father stood speaking into a communicator. By the tone of his voice, he was probably speaking to one of his advisors.

"I told that guard to take you away from here." Her father reprimanded with an annoyed look on his face. He had instructed the guard to take Kirin off-world if he had to, if it meant keeping his daughter safe. He would not be happy if he found out what she had gotten up to in the last few hours, albeit not being her fault, it would take the number one spot on the long list of things her father has not liked her doing. She thought it would be best to keep it to herself, if she didn't want to anger the man.

"She is safe, and that is all that matters." Her mother says as she rubs her daughters cheeks while holding the girl at her side. He looks at his wife for a bit before sighing and resuming his call. He always gets like that, but her mother seems to always calm him with a look. She always said that he had a weird way of showing his emotions and that the stress of being the next in line for the throne wasn't helping. He was trying to prove himself as much as he could by taking on all of these royal duties that Kirin's grandfather could not attend to now in his old age.

Padmé came out to the balcony and stood near the entrance, so as not to interrupt the family. Kirin's father noticed the girl and ended the call, before bowing towards her. Her mother curtsied and nudged the young Princess to do the same.

"Queen Amidala, it is a blessing to see you alive and well." The Prince spoke as he returned to standing up straight.

'Queen?!' The younger girl thought as she looked over at the girl dressed as the handmaiden.

"Yes, it is as much for me as it is for you." She spoke in a completely different voice than Kirin had heard her speak with Anakin. It was more regal, like a mature woman than the soft girlish voice of a child. She walked forward and stopped in front of the trio.

"I'm am deeply sorry for you getting caught up in our affairs, Prince Cal." The Queen bowed with a hand out, which Kirin's father took in acceptance.

"No, your Majesty, it is I who is sorry. If only our communications had not been blocked, I would have requested aid." Her father gestured to his communicator. "I have only recently been able to contact home. I assure you that the Corellian System will provide you with the resources needed to rebuild."

"Oh I couldn't possibly-" The Queen started to refuse, shaking her head, but the Prince insisted until she finally accepted his help. She was looking out towards the city, where there were a lot of damaged buildings and smashed monuments. Naboo was a small planet compared to others, and they had a lot of resources for maintenance and the sort, but definitely not enough to rebuild large amounts of the city. It was no wonder why she accepted.

"Thank you." Queen Amidala said as she smiled at the three of them, maybe a bit embarrassed but genuine none the less. "I will make it up to you. You had business with me, did you not? I remember you had scheduled a meeting with me before all of this mess occurred." she said, to which Kirin's father shook his head.

"It can wait, your Majesty. We can discuss it after we have helped your planet recover from this tragedy." Cal waved off.

"It may take a while. Are you sure?" she asked.

"We don't want to rush you, Your Majesty. We will wait as long as it takes, it is not a problem. In the meantime, I have other business to attend to here on Naboo." The Queen nodded and clicked her fingers, two handmaidens walked out onto the balcony and bowed at the Corellian family.

"If that is the case, I will have you moved in to more suitable living quarters. I thank you once again." She bowed once more before leaving them with the handmaidens that she had summoned.

The handmaidens gestured for the Royal family to follow them. Before they entered the room again, Kirin's mother grabbed her daughter's hand and walked in front of the girl. Going back through the balcony door, she noticed that the Queen was kneeling in front of Anakin, whose face was turned away, and the young man who was crying, was now on his communicator in the far corner of the room. The body on the table was now covered by a cloth but that didn't stop her mother from once again blocking the Princess's view as they walked out of the room.


	3. III.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter that was changed from 1st POV to 3rd POV. I only mention this because there will no doubt be parts in the chapter that might be in the wrong pov.

It was just yesterday that Kirin was in outer space shooting things down, fighting against these bad guys who were trying to take over Naboo. The Queens' Handmaidens brought the Princess and her parents over to a more stable side of the palace, as their old guest quarters were in quite a mess when the droids came in and ripped them away and placed them in one of the palaces' meeting room. They were forced to eat and sleep with the other hostages and last night was the first proper sleep the young girl and her family have had since the start of this whole debacle. Her parents were worried about the trauma their daughter might be going through after such an ordeal, yet here she was, bored out of her mind.

The girl looked around at her surroundings as she laid on the bed. The room was a lot smaller than their old one, with one large bed in the middle of it and a single bed pushed up against the wall. It was obvious that this was a probably a maidens bedroom that had a bed taken from another room and shoved in at the last minute.

'They're doing the best they can at the moment.' Kirin thought back to her mother's word, shrugging her shoulders as she straighten up to sit on the bed. Her father had left earlier in the morning, as it was reported that there were a couple of Corellian freighters in the mid rim that were available to assist Naboo, while her mother had been requested to aid the Queen. They left their daughter here for the day with the exact instructions being that she could not leave the room, and that if she needed anything, she had to call and request for it.

'Well, looks like I'm gonna have to make my own fun.' The Princess thought as she started bouncing on her parents bed. They definitely would not be pleased if they caught her right now, well, mostly her father. He hated anything that made the girl look undisciplined. Maybe she should have made sure the doors were closed before attempting this.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked from the doorway. Kirin dropped straight onto the bed, to make it look like she was just lying down. Lifting her head, she noticed that it was Anakin, who was giving the girl a confused but amused look. Pulling her hand to her heart, she let out a huge breath of relief, glad that it wasn't her father.

"What does it look like? I was jumping on the bed."

"I know that." He said shaking his head. "But why?"

"Because it's fun." Kirin scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Well, the most fun I can having while being trapped in here."

"But-" He started off confused. "-beds are for sleeping." he stated as if it's the most obvious thing in the universe. She scrunched her eyebrows and looked at him like he was an idiot. Was this kid pulling her chains?

"What? Are you basic? Have you never jumped on one before? Do you even have one?" She mocked, but instantly regretted it as she saw his face drop in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to speak to you like that." Kirin apologized, looking down at her feet, mentally kicking herself in the butt. "Also sorry - you know - about calling you basic." He lifted his head a little and nodded. If her parents had heard the way she just called some kid stupid and teased him about possibly not having a bed, it would be completely over for her. She didn't even know what she was thinking, saying something as cruel as that. Kirin didn't have much opportunity to speak to other children her age. She looked up at the boy who was just awkwardly standing there.

"You...want to join me?" The Princess asked as she moved to the middle of the bed, leaving enough for the boy to climb up. He nodded again and followed as Kirin motioned him to join her. As he was about to climb up, the girl stopped him and pointed at his feet.

"Do not even think about bringing your shoes up here." She reprimanded. He squatted down and started undoing his shoes, before following her up. He had obviously never done this before, as he just stood there while the young girl started to jump.

"Seriously, have you never jumped on a bed before?" She asked, genuinely curious this time. He shook his head and put his arms out to keep his balance.

"Our beds were never this soft." He said as he fell over from Kirin making the bed unstable for him to stand on. "And the ceilings would never be high enough to do something like this." He explained.

"Not even on your parents bed?"

"It was the same. A standard slave bed consisted of a mat on a raised platform, pillow and blanket." He said casually, shrugging his shoulders. Kirin's bouncing came to a halt as she processed his words.

'Slave?' She thought, glancing down at the boy and really studied his features. Now that she looked properly, he did look a bit smaller than other boys of his age. Kirin noticed him staring up at her and extended a hand to him. He accepted and she pulled him back up onto his feet.

"Well, now you can try it." She say as she held onto his hands and started bouncing. He started off slowly and as time went past, they were doing full on leaps into the air. She let go of him as they started to jump around the edges of the circular bed.

"This is pretty fun!" He exclaimed, laughing exuberantly as the pair jumped from one side to the other. Once again, his laugh was contagious, and Kirin couldn't help but feel the warmth that radiated off of him, just like when they were on the star fighter.

"I told ya!" The girl called back to him, slowing down and dropping onto the bed. She had to be honest, jumping on the bed was only fun for so long, but having someone to jump with made it even better. They've been going for half an hour and the kid looked like he was ready to go again. Anakin followed suit and dropped onto his back, laying at the end of the bed with their legs hanging off the edge and arms spread, staring at the roof above. Kirin turned her head towards the boy who was taking in deep breaths. He looked just as excited as he was yesterday, when he was piloting the both of them through the middle of space.

"I didn't know Naboo had slaves." The girl mentioned all of a sudden. It was still on the back of her mind, and Naboo didn't seem like the kind of planet that had slavery.

"They don't. I came from a planet called Tatooine..." He said trailing off, shifting his eyes elsewhere, as if even just mentioning the name was causing him physical pain. The young girl had heard of Tatooine before, while listening in on one of her fathers reports to her grandfather. He complained that it was a desert wasteland controlled by the Hutts on the outer rim, but he spoke of useful elements that could be mined there. Kirin turned to face back towards the ceiling, concentrating on the murals painted intricately along the roof. She fidgeted as she argued within herself, about whether or not she should say anything to him. The curiosity got the best of her though, and she let out an audible sigh.

"If you don't mind me asking-" Kirin began, hesitating when his eyes looked back at her. "But how did you get here?"


	4. IV.

Kirin found out a lot about Anakin and his life. They had laid on the bed for hours, him telling her about his mother and his (old) master Watto, who had won them in a bet against a Hutt; how he was discovered by some Jedi who had freed him from his slave life and took him to Coruscant to be tested; about his pod racing days and how he was the greatest pilot (his words); and about how he and Queen Amidala knew each other.

"Wow. Been a crazy week, huh?" The girl quipped. He slowly inhaled and then chuckled. He looked like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest, but his eyes showed how unsure he was about some of the decisions he's made.

"You miss your mom, don't you?" Kirin asked, already knowing the answer. He sat up and looked down at the Princess.

"Of course. I came with the Jedi because I didn't want to be stuck on Tatooine for the rest of my life, but in doing so, I've left her there all by herself. I don't even know if I will be trained as a Jedi, it certainly didn't sound like it when we were on Coruscant." Anakin let out in a huff. Kirin sat up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Your mom sounds like a strong person. She probably wanted a better life for you and I'm sure she would want you to continue on this path you are on. Besides, if the Jedi don't want you, then you'd probably make an alright Corellian Pilot." She reassures him.

"An alright pilot?" He raised an eyebrow. She slapped a hand onto his mouth, already knowing the speech he was about to make.

"Yes, yes, I already know" The young girl interrupted. "Sorry, oh mighty pilot of the galaxy." She mock bowed at him, to which he grinned smugly. He removed her hand and laid back down on the bed, placing his hands behind his head.

"So what about you?" He asked, watching as the girl laid down on her stomach this time, placing her head on her folded arms.

"What about me?" She said, kicking her legs slowly as they dangled off the bed.

"Well, I just told you everything about me." He stated.

"Nothing really special going on with me I guess. I mean the most exciting thing to happen to me happened yesterday, and you were there." She answered, shrugging her shoulders. Kirin shot straight up as she remembered the events that occurred yesterday, scaring Anakin from seeing the girl jump up so suddenly.

"Which reminds me." She whispered in hush tones." We are never to speak of that."

"What? Why?" He began. "It was so wiza-"

"No." She says, slapping my hand on his face again. "You and your big mouth are gonna get me in trouble with my dad. If he found out what happened, he'd probably send me away. You know, to one of those intergalactic schools for delinquents or something." Kirin said as if it was the worse thing in the universe. For a second she had forgotten that she was speaking to a kid who came from a planet where the closest thing to formal education was being able calculate the odds of a bet.

"Why would your dad send you away?" He queried, watching as the girl stalked across the room, worrying about her Core World problems.

"I don't know, but it seems to be the type of thing he would do. He's never liked anything that brought too much attention to myself." She told him, explaining how strict her father was. "I've gotten in trouble before. All minor things though. Mom said he does it because he doesn't want my image tainted before I succeed the throne."

"Wait a minute!" Anakin blurts out. "You're a royal?"

"Shhhh-" Kirin hushed at him, glancing around. "I am Kirin, Princess of the Corellian System" She whispered to the boy.

"Princess?" He whispered, surprise all over his face. "Wait a minute, why are we whispering?" He asked shaking his head, his voice slowly raising back to normal. "You don't look like a Princess." He said as he studied the brown haired girl.

"Oh? I'm sorry. I didn't know I was speaking to the expert on Princesses." She retorted, glaring at the boy.

He shook his head. "No, I didn't mean-" He stuttered as he tried to correct his wording. "I meant you don't dress like one." He gestured at her. Kirin looked down at herself and her clothing. Yeah, her outfit was pretty simple, just being a dress that looked like it belonged to a handmaiden, though not one from Naboo. Her hair was no better as it was just plaited in the middle, down her back. "When I think of Royal, I think of Padmé."

"Yes well, we can't all be perfect." The Princess replied. "Only few people know my true identity, the rest just think I'm some kid that my parents are stuck with. I'm not seen much in public." She explained to a confused Anakin. "I know it sounds confusing, but my mom tells me that it prevents me from being targeted. Corellia has a high rate of assassinations, especially against the rich."

"Your mom tells you a lot of things." He said skeptically.

"Well, it's not like I have a lot options when it comes to people to talk to." The girl muttered. Anakin gave her this look to which Kirin turned away and shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, I was told that my father wasn't even known to be the Prince 'til he was well into his twenties."

"So, why are you here then? If you're from Corellia." He asked changing the subject as he watched Kirin climb back onto the bed and start to balance on the edge of it.

"We got here just before the blockade started." Kirin retold the events of before she had met Anakin. "My father had a meeting with the Queen, and I guess we just got stuck here when the Trade Federation refused to let us leave."

"But, wouldn't your people have made a fuss about it?"

"The Royal family doesn't really announce when we go off world. Only the King and that's only sometimes." She explained. "My Grandfather was probably in the process of sending help, but I guess Queen Amidala was able to save her people just in time."

"Yeah, she's pretty amazing." Anakin said out loud with a dopey smile on his face. Kirin nodded her head in agreement, but rolled her eyes at his lack of being discreet of his obvious crush on the Queen.

"Yes, my father thinks so too. He wishes I could be a lot more like her. She's a great leader, that's for sure." The Princess says, slowly making her way to the top of the bed, an idea suddenly popping into her mind.

As Anakin started to ramble on about Queen Amidala, Kirin grabbed one of the many pillows at the head of the bed and held it behind her back as she stalked over to where the boy was sitting on the far end. He was facing away from her and so made it easier for her to sneak up on him.

"Hey kid." The young girl interrupted his rambling. "I know you've never jumped on a bed before now. But have you ever had a pillow fight?"

"A wha-" He began but was quickly cut off as Kirin slammed the pillow onto his head. He fell off the bed and came back on his knees, looking at the girl accusingly.

"Hey! What was that for?!" He yelped as he looked at the pillow.

"Let me teach you another fun thing that normal children like to do a lot." Kirin challenged, as she threw him a pillow. He looked at said pillow, not fully understanding how a pillow could be in the least bit fun. But nevertheless he got up, already knowing what he was gonna have to do.

-

It wasn't long before the room had descended into complete chaos. The fight managed to crossover into the bathroom, where the two kids were jumping through showers and hiding in bathtubs just to avoid getting hit. It then moved over to the wardrobe where clothes became ammo if pillows were not nearby. Pillows were thrown everywhere, some even landing out in the hallway, which luckily no one had seen as most of the guards were extremely busy with relief aid.

Kirin was currently holed up behind the headrest of her parents temporary bed, with nothing around her but the loose feathers that had fallen out of their pillow casings. Anakin was stalking around the room, trying to find the brown hair girl. He currently had all the pillows to himself, which he had thrown into the wardrobe as a way for drawing her out. He knew there were no other pillows she could get to, and the only way to get one would be to get into the wardrobe.

The Princess poked her head over the top of the bed and saw him stalking towards her hiding spot. He had been guarding the wardrobe for a couple of minutes while he took a break, but now it seemed like he was ready to finish this game. The bedroom had gotten a bit darker as it was going into late noon, and so it made it easier for the girl to move around.

"You've taught me well master." he chuckled, with a smile on his face. He was close to the bed and started walking around the right side of the bed, which slowly forced the girl to crawl around to the left.

"How about this. Whoever gets hit next is the loser. Whoever wins will have bragging rights." He called out. He obviously knew he was gonna win this, and the side he was walking along was the side with the wardrobe, which was her only chance at winning. As Kirin continued to crawl around the large bed, she noticed something out in the hallway.

'A pillow!' Her hope suddenly went up, but quickly died out. Anakin had pretty much full view of the room and even though it was darker than before, he would spot the girl immediately. He had a pretty wicked throw and his aim was on point as well, so she'd definitely lose. Kirin's adrenaline picked up as she felt him get closer to her. For some reason it felt as if he knew where she was but he was just toying with her, trying to see what she would do next. Kirin decided she wasn't going to let this kid take her down without a fight.

"OK I surrender. Just don't throw the pillow at me." Kirin called up to him as she slowly raised myself from the floor, hands in the air. He was now at the head of the bed and she was at the opposite end facing towards the hallway. He looked over at her with a smug grin as he raised both of his hands filled with pillows in victory

During his moment of self congratulation, the Princess made a sprint for the doorway. As she was halfway there, Kirin felt something, some kind of pull, like it wanted her to duck. On instinct she dropped down to her knees and a pillow flew straight over her head and out into the hallway.

'What in the-' Kirin turned around and looked at Anakin to see his surprised face. During his moment of shock, the young girl got back up and continued her run for the pillow. Anakin recovered from his shock to take aim with the other pillow he had. As soon as Kirin had grabbed the pillow and turned back towards the boy to take her aim, it was too late, as the second pillow was already on its way.

'Don't hit me. Don't hit me. Don't hit me.'

The Princess closed her eyes and threw her arms up to protect her head as she knew Anakin was aiming right for it. She waited for the pillow to make impact but instead, she heard Anakin gasp. Shifting her arms so she could peek through them, expecting to see Anakin smug face, but only saw red. The girl removed her arms and took a proper look straight ahead of her. The red pillow that Anakin had thrown was just floating there, in the air.

"How did you do that?" Anakin asked in complete awe. He came out into the hallway as the two kids both looked at the pillow that was just suspended in the air. Kirin swiped her hands above and beneath it, to see if it was some kind of trick, but there was nothing there.

"I...don't...know" Kirin said dazedly, as the both of them began to circle the soft object. She felt that instinct again, telling her to place her hand under the pillow, and so she gave in to it, placing her right hand just low enough so as not to be touching it. The pillow dropped right into Kirin's hand, causing Anakin to jump back slightly. The Princess looked over at the blonde boy as he stared at the object in her hand.

"I think I do..." He trailed off, face perplexed. He was so caught up in his thoughts that Kirin had to take this golden opportunity. She smacked the pillow right into his face and threw her hands up in the air in victory.

"You may be strong-" Kirin smirked at the boy as he rubbed his face. "-but you still have a lot to learn my apprentice." He completely forgot about what just happened and lunged for the pillow in her hand.

The pair started laughing as they played tug of war with the pillow, trying to rip it from each other. They fought back and forth until a loud voice bellowed from the end of the corridor.

"ANAKIN!"

The boy let go of the pillow and Kirin pulled it behind her back, in an attempt to hide it. A man, one whose name Anakin said was Obi-Wan, walked up to the children, glancing over Kirin before looking into the room. His eyes turned back towards Anakin, with eyes that reminded Kirin of her father when he was disappointed in her.

"I told you to remain with the guards. You have disobeyed my orders and you have disrespected this palace." He lectured, gesturing to the mess the kids had made.

"You will remain here and clean up this mess." The troublesome pair both looked down at their feet as he walked around and assessed the area. "This room better be spotless when I return in ten minutes."


	5. V.

The ten minutes came and went too fast, as the children were still cleaning the room by the time Obi Wan had returned. He watched from the doorway, making sure that the two picked up every clothing, pillow and feather that had littered the entire room. Being so caught up in their fight that they didn't even realise that they had made such a mess. To make matters worse, Kirin's mother had returned to the room.

-

"What in the world?" She asked as she came and stood next to Obi Wan taking a look around.

"Your Highness." He greeted, as he bowed at her. "I am terribly sorry for the mess." He apologized as he gestured at the room. It wasn't as bad as it was ten minutes ago, that's for sure, but it was still a bit...chaotic. "The boy escaped my watch, and desecrated your living quarters." He continued, his head still bowed. Kirin's mother locked her eyes on Kirin and then Anakin, her eyes softening as she noticed that her daughter had made a friend. She felt bad about having to leave her by herself, but she was needed with the Queen.

"Please do not worry yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if my daughter had caused this." She smiled at Obi Wan, as he straightened up. "They are just kids being kids." She reassured him that she wasn't mad, relief washed over him. He hadn't been in a great mood today, as he was in the middle of planning the funeral for his master, and he was frustrated with how long it was taking for the Council to return his calls.

"Daughter?" Obi Wan queried, looking over at the older woman who had a little smile as she watched Kirin and Anakin fight over who had to clean up the wardrobe. Kirin complained that Anakin caused the most mess in there, while he complained that it was her parents' clothes, so it was her duty.

"Yes, my daughter Kirin. It is not public knowledge." Princess Noval replied.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Obi Wan started to apologize again, when Noval cut him off.

"No need to apologize. I know who you are, Obi Wan. I know that you can be trusted."

Obi Wan looked up in surprise. "You do?" He questioned as Kirin's mother nodded her head.

"I heard you are the one who defeated the Sith. I saw you yesterday..." The older woman trailed off. "I am terribly sorry for your loss." She said as she placed a comforting hand on Obi Wan shoulder. He went quiet as he watched the two children push and shove each other as they came up to their last chore: making the bed.

"I hope that bathroom is clean Kirin." Princess Noval chided the girl. "You know how your father is at the end of the day. You're lucky that it was I, who returned first."

"Yes, mother." The young girl replied as she stuck her tongue at Anakin, who was snickering at her. When her mother went back to talking with Obi Wan, Kirin lightly punched the boy in the arm. After a whole lot of fussing around, the children finally finished making the bed.

"Well, it looks like the children are finished." Noval gestured to the pair who were puffed out. "How about we request dinner?" Kirin's mother called out. Instantly, at the mention of food, both of the kids stomachs started to rumble. Noval's eyes narrowed on her daughter at the sound.

"Don't tell me you haven't eaten today Kirin." Her mother scolded her as she looked at the clock. "It's almost 7 in the evening."

Kirin just shrugged casually, to which her mother shook her head.

"Let's get you kids something to eat." She said as she started off towards the dining hall. Obi Wan was about to decline, when the two kids ran past him, racing each other to catch up to the older woman. What he wanted to do, was take Anakin back to his room and give him a long lecture about knowing his place. That he couldn't just go wandering the palace, and he definitely couldn't go helping himself into other peoples rooms, even if they allow him in. He needed to learn boundaries. But watching him, as he started to have fun with his newfound friend, he couldn't find it in himself to ruin the kids' mood.

 

-

 

"Eat up children." Kirin's mother called as she began to eat her own food. She sat at the end of the large table, with Obi Wan sitting to her left. It was only them for tonight, as the Queen was overworking herself as usual, and Kirin's father must have still been out directing the new shipments that came in. Noval and Obi Wan fell into a deep conversation, topics ranging from Anakin all the way down to Naboo.

The kids couldn't stand listening to such boring talks, so they started to flick things at each other which resulted in them getting sent further down the table. Kirin looked over at the adults before sticking her hand up to cover her mouth.

"Pssst" She whispered. "Pssssstttt"

"I'm right here you know." He said as he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, I was just checking if you were deaf." She replied as she flicked a bean at the boy, which landed on the other side of him. "I wanted to ask...what did you mean you knew what it was?"

"What are you talking about?" He said, a bit too loud for Kirin's tastes. She tried to discreetly tell him to shut up by flicking her head over at her mother and Obi Wan.

"What are you talking about?" He repeated, a lot more quieter. Kirin checked behind her, making sure that no one was watching, before she flicked him in the forehead.

"What am I talking about? Does a certain event with a pillow ring any bells?" She spilled out in a hushed voice. Anakin rubbed his forehead confused, but suddenly the incident came rushing back into his mind.

"Oh, right." He said going silent. He just sat there with this dumb expression, lost in his thoughts. Kirin clicked her fingers in front of his face, trying to snap him back into this reality.

"I don't know for sure-" he started off. "-but I saw Qui-Gon and Obi Wan do something similar." he explained as he recounted the past week. "Yeah, now that I think about it, I saw some Jedi on Coruscant practicing to control it. Qui-Gon told me that it's called the Force." He finished looking at the young girl's face to see what she thought about it. Kirin's face just scrunched up in confusion.

"The Force? What is that?" she asked, a feeling suddenly washing over her. All at once her senses heightened. She could hear her mother and Obi Wan speaking to each other, as if they were speaking into her ears. Kirin's instant reaction was to block her ears. Anakin reached up to her and placed a concerned hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked her in concern. He looked over at the adults, who were starting to look over at them. Anakin waved his hands at them, as if to say she was just playing around. As soon as he reached out to her, all of Kirin's senses went back to normal as if it never happened. She pulled her hands from her ears and placed them down on the table.

"What just happened?" Anakin asked as he removed his hand. The girl just shook her head.

"I don't know. Everything just got loud for a second, and it felt like I knew where everyone was. Like I could feel where they were. Instead of seeing you, I just felt this warmth in the places where you're all sitting." she explained, looking over at her mother. Anakin nodded knowingly.

"Qui-Gon didn't tell me much before he..." Anakin drifted off. "But...I'm sure of it. You're able to use the Force." he confirmed.


	6. VI.

Kirin tossed and turned as she laid awake in her bed in the middle of the night. She moved onto her side, facing towards her parents bed, watching as they slept in the moonlit darkness of the room, listening to her father's light snores. She couldn't get out of her head what she and Anakin spoke about during their meals.

-

"Here, focus on this." Anakin instructed, picking up the bean that the girl had flicked at him. He placed it in between them and pointed at it. Kirin just stared at the bean, and after a minute, her face scrunched in frustration, as two fingers came up to her forehead. She sat like that for at least half a minute, before throwing her hand back onto the table.

"I look like an idiot." The Princess huffed as she spooned herself another mouthful of her dinner.

"Fine, just do what you did when you saw the pillow." Anakin said.

"That's the thing. I didn't do anything. I protected myself and then it was just floating there. All I remember was that I was hoping it wouldn't get me." Kirin explained. Anakin nodded in understanding.

"Okay. Maybe it's a mind thing. Just try telling it to move in your mind." The boy suggested. Kirin put down her spoon and continued with their experiment. She placed both of her hands on the table and stared at the bean, with Anakin watching her as he ate.

'Move. Move. Move.-' She chanted in her mind, her patience wearing thin as she was starting to think this was just a long running prank by Anakin to make her look like a fool. The bean was mocking her as well, she was sure of it.

"MOVE!" She yelled out exasperated. The bean launched itself down the dining hall and landed at the entrance way. Anakin looked at it and then slowly turned his head back to her, both of them staring at each other with wide eyes.

"Kirin!" Noval scolded from the head of the table. "Be nice or you can go to bed without supper." She said as she went back to her conversation with Obi Wan, both completely oblivious to what just happened. Not that they would be able to, since the bean was smaller than their pinkie fingers, and the adults were far enough away that the kids couldn't talk to them without raising their voices.

"Sorry mother!" Kirin called back and turned around to face Anakin with a ecstatic grin on her face. "I can't believe this." she whispered excitedly. "I'm just like a Celestial."

"Celestial? What's that?" Anakin questioned.

"Not what, but who." The young girl corrected. "They are Gods to us on Corellia. It was said that they created the machinery that was able to bring all of the planets of the Corellian System together." Kirin explained. Her people were firm believers of the Celestials.

"That's ridiculous." Anakin scoffed. Kirin crossed her arms in offense.

"Well, it can't be that ridiculous. Many planets believe in them. They are all powerful beings who created Centrepoint Station and created life on the Core Worlds." The younger Princess lectured. Anakin just rolled his eyes, completely unconvinced of these 'All powerful beings'.

"Yes well, despite all of that-" He gestured at the girl. "It doesn't make you a celestial. It just makes you a kid with the force, like me."

"Like you?" She said, looking at him unimpressed.

"Well not exactly. Obviously you can use the force before I can, so there's that." He assured. Kirin nodded her head.

"Right. So then I'm better than you then? Good to know." She quipped which made the boy glare at her.

"Anyways, what are we gonna do about it." Anakin grumbled. "We should inform Obi Wan. He'll know what to do with you."

"No. Not yet anyways. I wanna...test - yeah test, these newfound powers first." The girl replied with a mischievous grin. Anakin wasn't sure if he was excited or scared.


	7. VII.

Morning couldn't come fast enough as Kirin was wide awake for most of the night. She watched as her parents went through their usual morning routines before they headed out for the day to complete their new tasks of helping rebuild Naboo.

"Remember that you are to call the maidens if you have any problems." Kirin's mother called from the bathroom as she fixed the last bit of her hair. She walked out and headed in to the wardrobe to find her a set of ear rings to wear. "-And please make sure you eat something today. I've never known you to go that long without food."

"Yes, mother." Kirin rolled her eyes. Her mother was right though, she was a big eater, and it was only because of Anakin that she forgot in the first place.

"Oh, and if your friend comes over, please stay on your best behavior. We do not want a repeat of yesterday's incident." Her mother said as she took one last look at herself in the mirror before walking over to her daughter to give her a peck on the forehead. The girl just grinned sheepishly as her mother went on her way. She sat on the bed excitedly kicking her feet back and forth, looking at the clock.

'Any minute now.' She thought to herself. 'Anakin will be here and then we can test out these powers!'

She hadn't actually told the boy to meet her, but she assumed that after their exciting revelations last night that he was probably dying to come and see her. But that didn't seem to be the case as two hours had passed and Anakin was a no show. Kirin glared at the clock as it pointed out that it was now 11am.

'Well great. That's nearly the morning gone.' The young girl groaned and turned away from the clock. She had the whole day planned for them. Test her powers, then order some food, then test her powers while eating said food. It was gonna be one busy day for them.

-

The Princess stood at the window and watched as the sun reached the top most part of the sky. She decided she would order herself some lunch while she waited. She reached for the communicator that her parents had left her with and contacted the kitchen staff. No longer than ten minutes later, a guard came knocking at the door, bringing a small tray of native fruits.

Kirin thanked the man as he rushed back to more important duties, before sitting on the floor to help herself. She tried practicing with her lunch, what she had done the night before, with some success. One of the small, roundish fruit wobbled a bit, but that seemed to be all she could do for today.

'Any minute now.' She kept thinking as she finished up her meal. She left the tray on one of the side tables and moved back to the window. Minutes turned to hours as she watched the sun begin to set. It wouldn't be long now before her mother would be back. She let out a big sigh as she fell back onto her bed, watching as the sky turned to dusk.


	8. VIII.

Kirin watched as her parents once again went through their morning routines. Her father washed and dressed himself, filling himself on a quick breakfast that was ordered earlier, before heading out for the day. Kirin's mother took more time to herself to make herself look presentable before she too had a quick munch on her breakfast and kissed her daughter goodbye.

'Finally!' Kirin thought as she raced over to the doorway to look up and down the corridor. She watched for a bit as her mother made her way down the hallway and finally turned a corner. The girl ran back to her own breakfast and gulped as much of it as she could before running over to the wardrobe to find a backpack.

She made due with one of her mothers handbags that was big enough to be worn across the front of her torso. Kirin filled it with hers and her parents leftovers, which were mainly fruit, and zipped the bag so as to keep the content inside. She walked over to the doorway and took one more look down each sides of the corridor, before finally taking off down to her left.

Kirin had made up her mind the night before that if Anakin wasn't going to come to her, she would have to come to him. She made sure she got a good nights sleep, because she had the day planned out for her and Anakin. First she had to find out where he was, then she was going to get him to tell her more about this Force, or at least help her use it. Kirin didn't even know where she was going, but she could somehow feel where she needed to go. It was like that night in the dining hall, when her senses were heightened, except now it was only her ability to feel others presences. Which must only be attuned to people that she knew or could use the force, as someone had approached Kirin without her being able to sense them.

"Good morning Your Highness." One of the Queen's handmaiden, who looked a lot like the Queen herself without the makeup, bowed as she rounded the corner to spot the girl. Kirin awkwardly stood there, not knowing if she were to run back to her room or to just act casually, as if she wasn't sneaking out.

"Uh, good morning." Kirin finally acknowledged the older girl, allowing her to stand straight again. They fell into an awkward silence as Kirin fidgeted with her bag.

"Would you like me to escort you to your parents? I was just about to report to the Queen." The handmaiden asked as she gestured towards the Queens quarters.

"No!" The young girl said frantically. The handmaiden raised an eyebrow at the girl's outburst. Kirin realized how suspicious that must of looked and so she tried to save the situation.

"I mean no...thank you." Kirin responded, trying to imitate her mothers voice when she was on official duty. "I was actually looking for someone else...You wouldn't happen to know the whereabouts of the boy who is currently staying in the palace?" The young Princess queried. The older girl's eyebrows shot up in a surprised look.

"Do you mean Anakin Skywalker?" The handmaiden asked. "I can show you to his room if you wish." The girl offered, to which Kirin accepted.

"If it isn't much trouble." The Princess replied, and followed as the handmaiden started off in the direction Kirin was already going.

"What is your name?" Kirin asked the girl, who looked over to her with a small smile.

"Sabè." The girl introduced. The younger girl nodded and continued to follow Sabè as she navigated the palace. Kirin kept very close to the older girl, glancing around to make sure she didn't run into anyone else that knew her.

The handmaiden seemed to catch on to the younger girl's odd behavior and was starting to put the pieces together. After a few minutes of silent walking, the older girl decided to speak up.

"I'm guessing your parents do not know that you have left your quarters." Sabè said offhandedly.

"Of course they- I mean they-" Kirin tried to come up with a fast lie, but the handmaiden just gave her a knowing look.

"No, they don't. Please don't tell my mother." Kirin pleaded with her hands in a prayer motion.

"You have nothing to worry about m'lady." The handmaiden reassured, to which Kirin let out a sigh of relief. "I wouldn't deny two childhood sweethearts from being with each other." Sabè said almost in a teasing tone.

"Woah,woah,woah-" Kirin's face scrunched up in disgust. "-It's nothing like that!" The girl exclaimed.

"Right. Forgive me Princess." Sabè apologized with a small smirk. She came up to an intersection of two hallways and gestured down the left corridor.

"At the end of this corridor to the right, you will find Skywalker." Sabè informed as she bowed at the younger girl. Kirin thanked the handmaiden and started off in the direction she was shown.

"I hope you two have fun today." The older girl called out teasingly, winking at the Princess before making her way back to Queen Amidala.

"Ugh!" Kirin scoffed, marching off towards the end of the hallway.


	9. IX.

True to the handmaidens words, Kirin found Anakin in the room to the right of the large window at the end of the corridor. As Kirin came up to the doorway, she took a peek inside, spotting the boy sitting face down on a desk. Near the open balcony door was one of the palace's royal guards, who had fallen asleep in his chair. Kirin looked back at the young boy as she thought of ways to catch his attention.

"Pssst." The young girl whispered. "Pssssttt!" She tried a little louder but the boy couldn't hear her with his head covered by his folded arms. Kirin had an idea and reached into her mother's bag, pulling out a single raisin and took aim at the boy's head. She lobbed the raisin and it fell onto the desk just short of its target. Kirin huffed at her bad throw, but came up with a plan b.

'Hit him.Hit him.Hit him.' The girl chanted in her head as she put all her focus on the raisin. Her arm slowly came up as her hand extended towards the raisin, as she watched it start to wobble on the desk. Eventually the raisin did as she commanded and flicked itself at the boy who was startled to say the least. His head looked around the room before finally he noticed the girl in the hallway.

"Come here." The Princess mouthed as she motioned for him. Anakin looked at the guard behind him, before getting out of his seat and tiptoeing his way over to Kirin. As he came out into the hallway, he saw that the girl had moved over towards the large window an the end of the corridor.

"I see you've mastered flicking small objects." The boy smiled at the young Princess as she looked at him with an annoyed look.

"Where were you yesterday? I thought we were going to practice using the force." Kirin snapped. Anakin just raised his eyebrow.

"You didn't tell me to meet you yesterday. Besides, I was stuck in my room ever since that night. Obi Wan has grounded me to my room and has placed a guard on watch, though all he does is sleep." Anakin grumbled. "Why are you even upset about it? Did you miss me?" The boy teased as he smirked, causing the young girl to roll her eyes.

"Oh, don't you start." Kirin huffed as she folded her arms. Anakin gave a confused look to which the young girl just shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Lets just focus on what we're going to do now."

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked as the two kids walked over and looked out the window towards the waterfalls and the large drop of the cliff below.

"Well we're not gonna stay here all day are we?" The girl asked. Anakin face grew into a big smile as he shook his head. "Good. Because I know where we can go." The girl smiled back with a mischievous look.

-

Security on the palace wasn't as tight as it should have been since the invasion ended, which Kirin thanked whichever higher being gave them this golden opportunity to escape. She had only been out into the town a few times with her parents before the invasion, but she had a pretty good memory and sense of direction. The two children walked around the town, coming across many shops that were closed for repairs. The whole of the surrounding area of the palace was being rebuilt and maintained for the celebrations that were to be held in another week's time from now.

"Follow me." Kirin said as she followed a pathway that lead towards the outskirts of the town. Anakin looked around in amazement at all the beautiful buildings they passed. They walked for about twenty minutes before they finally came upon a quiet spot near a river. Kirin bent down and dipped her hands into the water, sighing at the cool feeling. The two sat down in the shade as Kirin unzipped her bag and emptied it's content.

"Take your pick." The girl said as she dived in for the biggest fruit she saw.

"Thanks." Anakin said as he took his pick from what remained. "What are we even doing here?" He asked as he took a bite. Kirin just shrugged her shoulders as she finished her first fruit and went into her second.

"I don't know, but it sure beats being inside, doesn't it?" The Princess replied to which Anakin nodded. He was thankful that he wouldn't have to sit in that desk for another day, even if it meant that he was going to get the biggest lecture from Obi Wan, it was definitely worth it.

"Well, don't expect me to tell you more about the force. 'Cause even I don't know." Anakin claimed. He only knew limited amounts about the force and so far the majority, if not all, of that information came from Qui-Gon.

"Fine." Kirin huffed as she stood and walked over to the river. She dipped her hands in and washed the juices of the fruit off before doing the same for her mouth. Anakin came and did the same, but decided he was going to have a bit of fun. He reached in with both of his hands and flicked the water over at Kirin, getting her right in the face. The hilarious expression on her face caused Anakin to burst out into a fit of laughter.

"How dare y-" Kirin sputtered, as she watched the boy's left foot lose its footing and he slipped into the river. It was now Kirin's turn to laugh at Anakin, as she pointed at the bubble that came up from where he was submerged. The girl wiped fake tears from her eyes as she waited for Anakin to surface so she could laugh at him to his face. After a few more seconds though, Kirin started to get a bit worried.

"Anakin!" The girl called out, as she laughed nervously.

'He's probably just playing around.I'm not going to fall for it.' The girl thought as she started back towards the spot under the tree. She slowed down though as a thought crossed her mind.

'But didn't he say he came from a desert planet.' The girl suddenly realized and ran back.

"ANAKIN!" The girl yelled out frantically. She didn't waste any more time and dived right into the river.


	10. X.

Kirin held her breath as she searched underneath the water for Anakin, spotting the boy struggling near the bottom of the river. It wasn't as deep as she had originally thought, but it was still deep enough to drown a kid, especially one who didn't know how to swim. She swam down and tugged on one of his arms, placing it around her shoulders, and firmly planted her two feet on the ground. She wrapped her own arm around his waist and gestured at her feet and then pointed above her, signalling that on the count of three they were going to launch themselves towards the surface. Anakin nodded slowly as Kirin did a quick count down with her fingers.

As soon as she hit one finger, they both pushed off the ground, propelling themselves towards the water top. Kirin had to kick her legs a bit before she finally broke the surface, quickly reaching out for the edge of the river and held on as she pulled Anakin's head above the water. The boy reached out and dug his hand into the dirt as he heaved for fresh air. The two kids let go of each other and just held onto the river bank trying to catch their breaths, the lower half of their bodies still submerged in the water.

"You...are...an...idiot." The young Princess huffed. "You're lucky I put two and two together." She said, her breathing now stabilizing and her adrenaline had started to simmer down.

"Thank...you" Anakin breathed out slowly. Kirin looked over at the boy and reached out to flick him right in the forehead.

"Idiot." Kirin said as a small smile started to form on her mouth. Anakin was completely drenched, his hair matted against the top of his head making him look hilarious. The girl sighed and laid back, floating on the surface of the calm river. She may as well go for a swim now that she was in the water.

"How are you doing that?" The boy asked as he held onto the edge of the river bank.

"Wanna learn?" Kirin offered as she waded through the water back towards the boy. Anakin nodded, suddenly forgetting his almost traumatic accident.

-

"Like this." Kirin demonstrated as she paddled through the water towards the boy. So far she had taught Anakin how to at least keep afloat.

"I've got you." The young girl said as she placed one hand underneath his neck and the other at his lower back. Anakin nodded and laid back in the water, allowing Kirin to hold him above the water but the boy was still too stiff. "Relax." The girl instructed, watching as the boy did as he was told. Once Kirin felt that he was ready, she slowly let him go and let him float by himself. Anakin just laid there, arms outstretched and a big grin on his face. 

-

A few hours had passed, and floating seemed to have been the extent of Kirin's teachings for today. The kids just chatted for a while, before they both fell into a water fight. Even though Anakin had learnt a lot today, Kirin still felt it was safer for them to play in a more shallower area. They decided to call a truce when they both started to dunk each other underwater. The pair raced back onto the grassy banks and chased each other in a game of tag, before they headed back to their original spot to lay out in the sun.

"We better dry off before we head back to the palace." Kirin said as she started to wring the water out of her hair. 

"Yeah." Anakin said simply as he shook his head, water droplets hitting Kirin right in the face, causing the girl to throw some grass at him.

"Hey Kirin..." Anakin called out as he looked up at the sky. "...Thanks, you know..." The boy drifted off as they both laid there. Kirin just nodded as they both fell into a comfortable silence.

-

The hike back to the palace was a quick one as the two children had fallen asleep and it was now coming up mid afternoon. The original plan was that the children would be back in the palace an hour or so before Obi Wan would be returning to the room. From the moment Anakin had woken up though, he had half an hour to be back in his room, and with a twenty minute walk back to the castle, he knew he was cutting it very close.

The two children had each others backs as they scanned down every hallway to make sure that they hadn't been spotted by someone they knew. Anakin came up to his room, with Kirin following closely behind, and took a peek inside. Anakin did say before that the guard could sleep forever, but Kirin didn't think he meant that literally.

"How is he still asleep?" Kirin said incredulously.

"I told you. This was what it was like all-day yesterday." Anakin murmured back to the girl watching as the guard snored. He turned around to face the Princess as she held onto her mother's handbag.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked as he started to back himself into the room before Obi Wan returned.

"Definitely." Kirin confirmed as both of the children grinned at each other before running off to the places where they needed to be.


	11. XI.

Sneaking out of the palace proved to be no challenge for the children as their rendezvous in Naboo lasted for a whole week without any notice. The pair spent most of their time swimming in lakes and running through fields; riding on Shaaks (as one couple called them as they yelled at the children to leave them alone) and just plain sightseeing. Local children played with them as well, even teaching them how to play a native game of Theed Quotis. Lucky for Anakin that his swimming had improved enough over the past couple of days for him be able to play.

"C'mon." Kirin signaled to Anakin as they both walked through Theed, making a beeline for the Palace. After finding a few spare credit in her mother's bag earlier in the day, Kirin stopped at a bakery and shouted the both of them some sweets before making their way back to their temporary residence.

"Not as good as ryshcate, but it's still good." Kirin commented as she took a bite into her cake, remembering one of her favorite treats from Corellia.

"You miss Corellia much?" Anakin asked as the two kids jumped onto the edge of the small bridge and walked across. With her arms out to balance herself, Kirin nodded in response.

"Yeah. It's been almost a month that I've been here in Naboo." Kirin said as she and Anakin stepped off the other side of the bridge and continued their walk.

"But it shouldn't be long now. My father told me that we would be leaving not long after the parade in a weeks time." The Princess continued. Anakin nodded as he chewed on his food. They strolled right through the palace grounds and in to the main foyer, taking their usual route back towards their rooms. Anakin's room was always the closest, so Kirin always walked him back first. As they approached the room though, Kirin was too late in sensing a presence hiding behind one of the pillars that lined the hallway.

"I had suspected this to be the case." A voice chimed as the figure walked out and stopped the two children just short of entering the room. Obi Wan looked at the pair in disappointment, first at Anakin then at Kirin.

"Your parents are worried sick about you Princess." Obi Wan reproached the young girl as she turned her gaze to the ground. "Your mother returned back to her room early and had found you were not there. She sent me to look for you." He said as he turned towards Anakin. He reached to his belt and pulled his communicator out and contacted Kirin's mother.

"I've found them, I'll bring them to you ma'am." Obi Wan reported, never once taking his eyes off of the kids. He ended his call and waved the kids towards Kirin's quarters.

"Come now. You'll both have a lot of explaining to do."

-

There was no escaping punishment for the children, so they found that telling the truth lessened the damage. Doing a day by day retelling of the past week was a task left to Anakin as Kirin knew her mother wouldn't let her get one word out before shutting her down. The elder Princess let out a sigh before looking over at her daughter.

"Thank you Padawan Kenobi. I'll take things from here." Kirin's mother spoke formally to the man, her eyes fixed on the younger princess. Obi Wan caught the hint and bowed, ushering Anakin out of the door, preparing his own lecture for his ward. Kirin watched as the two males walked away, the younger one sending her an apologetic look before being shoved out of sight. Obi Wan shut the door behind himself, leaving the two Royals in tense silence, if only for a couple of seconds.

"I can't believe you would go behind our backs and disobey us like that Kirin!" Noval shouted. "Do you know how worried sick I was when I didn't find you in the room. I thought you had been taken."

"I'm sorry mother." Kirin apologized like she always did, but her mother just shook her head.

"Just wait until your father hears about this."

"No mother! Please!-" Kirin begging was just cut off.

"Oh yes, and not only that, but I will also be informing your grandfather tomorrow when he arrives." Noval declared as she watched Kirin put her head down in remorse, tears starting to form in her eyes. The two people she couldn't stand disappointing. Noval knew she had to be harsh for Kirin to understand that what she did was wrong, but she couldn't help but soften a little at the sight of the girl.

"Oh sweetheart." Noval started as she moved over to the girl and pulled her in for a hug. "What would we have done if something had happened to you. We don't have the same power here as we do on Corellia. I was lucky that Padawan Kenobi was willing to help in my search for you." She continued as she brushed her fingers through Kirin hair. The younger girl just stood there with her face pressed against her mothers stomach. They stood like that for a couple of minutes before Noval pulled away and looked down at her daughter.

"Your father and I left you in this room with no babysitter, no guardsmen, because we believed that you were mature enough. Today has proven that this is not the case and as soon as your grandfather arrives, you will be left in the care of CorSec officers during the day. Do you understand?" The elder Princess asked. Kirin just nodded in response, eyes glued to the floor.

"Good. Now you will go and clean yourself up. When you are finished, supper will be waiting, then it is off to bed for you." Princess Noval commanded as she reached for her communicator preparing to order their meals.

"Yes mother." Kirin sulked as she walked to the bathroom.

"You best be awake early tomorrow. We will having some very important people that the Queen has asked us all to welcome in the morning." Noval called out to which she received a meek response.

-

Kirin was up at the first sign of sunlight that shined through the large windows. Her mother and father were already awake, no doubt continuing with their conversations from the night before, which had not ended well for the young Princess. Her mother laid with her head on her father's shoulder as they talked in low tones, her father speaking in a more harsher tone than her mother. Both parents went silent at the sound of their daughter yawning, watching as she sat up in her bed.

"Good morning Kirin." Her father said as he removed himself from his wife and their bed.

"Good morning father." Kirin responded meekly, watching as her father began to get himself ready. Kirin knew that he was putting aside her punishment, if only for the next couple of days, as he had more pressing matters to worry about. They had found out the day before that, along with the King of the Corellian Empire - that the Jedi Council and Ambassadors of the Galactic Senate would be finally arriving.

"Well, come now." Prince Cal said as he started for the wardrobe. "Tardiness will not be tolerated, today of all days."

"Yes father." Kirin mumbled to which her father gave her a stern look.

"What was that?" He scolded. Kirin cleared her throat and spoke louder, more regally and firm.

"That's more like it." Cal stated as he continued into the bathroom. "It's about time you started acting like a Princess instead of a scoundrel." He chastised.

"Yes father." The young girl responded again in a firm tone. She looked over at her mother who gestured over to the vanity table that had some clothes draped over the chair. Kirin could tell her mother wanted to be gentle with her, but was probably holding back from coddling her as punishment. Kirin just nodded a thanks to her mother and went off to dress herself as quickly as she could as she knew today was not a day to test her parent's patience.

-

"Now, Viceroy, you're going to have to go back to the senate and explain all this." Queen Amidala stated. She stood tall, surrounded by her handmaidens and the many Palace guardsmen. Kirin and her parents stood to the Queen's left while Anakin and Obi Wan stood off to her right.

"I think you can kiss your trade franchise goodbye." Captain Panaka added as he started to move them towards the Corellian Star ship that had just arrived for their collection. Kirin stood straight as the doors of the Republic shuttle opened, revealing an old man dressed in a blue gown, at the forefront of a large party. Anakin and Obi Wan followed Captain Panaka towards the shuttle and stopped right in front of the old man.

The man began to speak to the pair, no doubt to congratulate them on their success. Kirin couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something irritating her about the old man. The way he looked at Anakin; the pat on the shoulder; the way he spoke and most notably his smile. It creeped her out a little. Kirin continued to watch, even as Anakin gestured over to her, causing the elder man to look over her with his beady eyes. He finished his talk with the two and started off towards Queen Amidala.

"Congratulation on your election, Chancellor." The Queen congratulated. The man shook his head.

"Your boldness has saved our people, Your Majesty." The Chancellor assured. "It's you, who should be congratulated. Together we shall bring peace and prosperity to the Republic." He acknowledged as he moved away from the Queen and towards Kirin. His eyes were fixed on her before lifting up towards her parents.

"Chancellor Palpatine." Prince Cal greeted with a slight nod. Kirin could see that her father did not like this man, but she couldn't tell whether it was for the same reason as hers. The man - Palpatine - nodded back in response.

"Your Highness. How deeply sorry I am for the trouble that you have had here on my home planet. I'll have you know that your father and I spoke on our journey here, and that you will be well compens-" Palpatine started but was cut off by Kirin's father.

"That won't be necessary. But thank you for the gesture." Prince Cal said curtly, his tone hinting that he would not be discussing it any further. Kirin's father was a man who wanted to keep conversations with people outside of the family, brief and to the point.

The Chancellor nodded and moved over to Kirin's mother, giving a light kiss to the back of her hand. As he spoke to Princess Noval, Kirin glanced over at Anakin, who looked bored out of his mind as he watched Obi Wan speak to some small, green humanoid creature. The boy caught sight of the girl watching, before he rolled his eyes and started to make chatterbox motions with his hands, causing Kirin to let out a little chuckle. Anakin saw the girl start laughing and gave her one of his cheeky smiles.

"-And you must be Kirin. Your grandfather told me a lot about you on our journey from the Core worlds." The elder man spoke up, breaking the young Princess from her silent conversation with Anakin. Kirin nodded her head as the Chancellor moved in front of her and held his hand out to shake, to which she hesitated.

"Kirin..." Her father warned with a pointed look, telling her to just shake the man's hand and be done with it.

"Don't worry my child. I don't bite." Palpatine assured, giving off that creepy smile again.

"Yes, Chancellor." Kirin responded coldly, extending her hand towards the man, who took it firmly.

"Oh please, just call me Palpatine."


	12. XII.

Kirin breathed a sigh of relief as she successfully moved away from the welcoming party, away from the adults who had to stand there to meet and greet the many politician and dignitaries to Naboo. As usual, Kirin had become bored with the task, her legs started to become numb from standing still for so long, so she started to slowly inch away to the back of the group, where others paid little attention to her. All except one little boy.

"Old people sure can talk a lot." Anakin groaned as he made his way to the young Princess.

"Tell me about it." Kirin agreed, glancing towards where her parents and the Queen stood speaking with Republic Ambassadors. Kirin was waiting on her Grandfather, who she was told had arrived on the ship that had just landed. While she waited, though, it looked like Anakin could keep her company. She spotted Obi Wan giving a stern look towards the younger boy, a tell tale sign saying that although he may be occupied, he still had his eye on him.

"I'm guessing you didn't get off the hook easy." Kirin murmured, gesturing towards Obi Wan.

"I'm still on the hook." Anakin grumbled, as he lightly kicked a leaf that had blown onto the footpath of the palace plaza. Kirin nodded in agreement, telling him her experiences with her parents for the past 24 hours.

"They're thinking about sending me to the Leadership School on the planet of Andara." Kirin groaned. "It's a place for the rich and powerful to dump their kids. The school trains them to be just like them." The Princess explained after seeing Anakin's confused expression. She kept forgetting that he was pretty much cut off from the rest of the galaxy.

"Oh." Anakin said plainly. His past life felt so simple to him, compared to all he was learning about the galaxy. "Do any of your friends go there?" The boy was curious to learn more about the Princess.

"No, not really...but all rich kids know other rich kids, even if we've never met, so I'm bound to know someone there." Kirin responded shrugging her shoulders. Anakin nodded his head in slight amazement. He was lucky to have at least one good friend on Tatooine, but just thinking about the type of status one would have to be known to others throughout the galaxy, made Anakin yearn to hold that sort of power.

"Here he comes!" Kirin said excitedly, changing the subject completely as her attention was back on her parents, or rather the person they were talking to. Anakin was brought out of his thoughts and turned to find the source of Kirin's excitement.

"You must meet my grandfather." The Princess practically demanded, grabbing the boy by the arm and pulling him towards her parents. As they came closer to the adults, she paused at their side, knowing it was better to wait for them to finish talking before hugging her grandfather, unless she wanted another lecture from her father.

"Here she is. Hello my child." King Thel of Corellia smiled down at the small girl.

"Papa." Kirin called out, as she rushed into his open arms, making sure she was gentle as he was starting to get too old.

"Who is your young friend here?" King Thel queried as Kirin pulled away from their embrace.

"This is Anakin Skywalker." The Princess introduced. The boy bowed respectfully at the elderly man.

"Hello young Skywalker." The King greeted.

"So you are Anakin Skywalker. I've heard a great deal about you." Kirin's father, Prince Cal, spoke up. This was his first time meeting the boy that his wife had talked about on more than one occasion, the biggest talk coming from just the night before. Anakin caught the man glowering at him, before he was nudged by his wife with her own frown. Kirin looked at the boy with an apologetic look, before joining in on the conversation with her grandfather. Anakin just stood there silently, taking this moment to observe them.

Everything about them screamed Royal family of the Corellian Empire. From their looks to their clothing, even the aristocratic air that surrounded them. They were dressed immaculately, even Kirin, who only wore clothes that looked fit for only handmaidens for the whole week, was dressed nicely. Anakin had learned that the Corellian colors were red, gold and white though sometimes it was just the latter two, which is what the four of them were all wearing.

Lost in thought once again, Anakin didn't notice some of the members of the Jedi Council, namely Master Yoda and Master Windu, approached the royal family. They were shortly followed by Obi Wan, who came to stand next to Anakin. King Thel cut his conversation short as he noticed the two Jedi Masters, bowing at the newcomers.

"Master Yoda. How long has it been?" The King laughed as he reached down and shook the hand of the small, green humanoid Kirin saw before.

"Too long, old friend." Yoda reminisced with a nod of his head.

"Yes, too bad our meeting here today could not have been under better circumstances...You remember my son Cal and daughter-in-law Noval." King Thel asked as he gestured to Kirin's parents, who did a slight bow to the two Master Jedi.

"It is good to see you well, Master Yoda." Kirin's father greeted. "This is my daughter, Kirin." The man gestured towards the small girl standing next to Anakin. The green Jedi stood there with a look of contemplation, as his eyes landed on the girl's own brown ones. Kirin was starting to become unnerved as the small creature kept staring at her, as if pondering something.

"It is a pleasure to meet you young one." Master Windu, greeted the child, while the smaller one just hummed in agreement.

"Well, we must catch up very soon. I will go and make myself known to the young Queen Amidala. I will see you after, son." Kirin's grandfather said, dismissing himself from the group and heading straight for the Queen who was awaiting him.

"We have yet to greet to the Queen as well. Please excuse us." Master Windu said, as he and Master Yoda departed from the group. Kirin could see that the two of them were whispering with each other as they made their way to the Queen of Naboo.

"Come now Anakin." Obi Wan demanded as he followed his masters.

"Oh great. More talking." Anakin grumbled with a roll of his eyes, waving at Kirin before sauntering off after Obi Wan. The girl waved after him, though he wasn't really watching her anymore, for as soon as he had entered the crowd talking to the Queen, there was no one else he would look at but Padmé herself.

"Our business here is done. Let's go back to our room and rest before the cremation tonight." Prince Cal said as he started to head back in the direction of Theed Palace. Kirin checked the time and saw that it was past noon.

"Cremation?" Kirin asked, as she jogged to catch up to her parents.

"Yes. We have been invited to the funeral of Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Now that the council has arrived, they will have his funeral, tonight." Her father stated as they continued on their walk.

-

"Confer on you the level of Jedi Knight the council does." Master Yoda acknowledged, pacing in front of the kneeling Padawan, Obi Wan. 

It was late afternoon, a few hours have past since the council had arrived to Naboo. They were alone in one of the Palace's many meeting rooms, large windows letting in the last bit of sunlight from the setting sun. Obi Wan had left Anakin in the care of Master Windu, as he requested that he speak to Master Yoda alone.

"But agree with your taking this boy as your Padawan learner, I do not." Yoda asserted, pausing in his stride to bang his walking stick once before continuing his pace.

"Qui-Gon believed in him." Obi Wan interjected, causing Master Yoda to pause in his walk again, and let out a sigh.

"The Chosen one the boy may be. Nevertheless, grave danger I fear in his training." Yoda warned, pointing his stick at the man.

"Master Yoda, I gave Qui-Gon my word." Obi Wan said as he watched as Master Yoda shook his head. "I will train Anakin."

"OH!" Yoda grunted at the man's stubbornness, knowing exactly where he picked it up from.

"Without the approval of the council, if I must." Obi Wan added, determined to fulfill his master's dying wish.

"Qui-Gon's defiance I sense in you. Need that you do not." Master Yoda retorted, staring off to the side in thought.

"Agree with you the council does." Yoda announced to the younger man. "Your apprentice Skywalker will be." He confirmed as he turned back to Obi Wan, who was relieved his defiance didn't land him trouble. The soon to be Jedi Knight bowed to Master Yoda in appreciation.

"There was something else I wanted to speak to you about Master." Obi Wan added. "It's about the girl. Princess Kirin."

"Hmm?"

"She is strong with the Force, Master. I sensed it." Obi Wan claimed, catching Master Yoda's attention again.

"What proof have do you, hmm?" Yoda asked skeptically, moving towards the window and closing his eyes, trying to connect to the Force for some answers. Yoda had also sensed something within the girl earlier today. He wanted to hear what the young man had to say about her. 

"I've felt it through the Force Master. Not as strongly as Anakin, but it's there." Obi Wan explained, trying to search his memories of the past week for clues. "There were some instances, where I've felt a spike in the Force." Obi Wan recalled the incidents of the pillow fight and the day he caught the both of them sneaking back into the Palace. He was using the Force to locate Anakin in both instances, following the mass of life Force he could sense to find the boy. It didn't occur to Obi Wan much later on, that maybe it wasn't just Anakin he was sensing.

"Just today, when Chancellor Palpatine was congratulating the boy about his bravery of taking out the battle station, Anakin mentioned that he wasn't alone. That the Princess was the one that helped him. He spoke of her marksmanship, about her taking out some of the Federation Star ships up there. That's impossible for most adults, unless they've had training in some way, least of all for some child. "

"Very interesting this is...yes..." Yoda trailed off, not moving from his spot at the window. The Padawan tried to rack his brain for more information. He remembered when they had dinner with the Princesses of Corellia, and the surge in the Force, if only for a second.

"Sometimes I feel it, other times I don't. I suspect that she already knows about her abilities, and I think she may be tapping into them." Obi Wan concluded, finally getting up from his kneeling position to stand next to Master Yoda.

"Most serious, this is." Yoda said as he opened his eyes, seemingly finding the answer he was seeking. "Speak with her Grandfather, I will. From there, see if this matter is worth bringing up with the Council."

"Thank you Master." Obi Wan bowed again in appreciation that his demands were well received.


	13. XIII.

Kirin woke up in a bit of a delirium, a line of saliva drooled from the side of her mouth as she slowly dragged a hand across her face. She rubbed her eyes, looking around her darkened room, the only source of light coming from the slightly ajar bathroom door and the last bit of sunlight from the setting sun. To think that she was complaining to her father just a few hours before, when he suggested that she should have a nap before they headed off to the funeral. The early rise of this morning and the standing around all day must have drained her without even realizing. Kirin rose from her bed and moved towards the bathroom door, where her mother was getting ready.

"Oh good, you're awake." Kirin's mother said as she hooked one earring on. "You're father has gone ahead to meet with your grandfather. I've left your clothes in there."

The girl just hummed in acknowledgement, and began to get dressed. She became frustrated when her arms got stuck trying to pull them through the arm hole of the dress. After a little help from her mother, who untangled her from the mess she was creating with her dress, and also did her hair in a tidy bun, Kirin was ready to go.

-

If the walk from her room wasn't enough to wake the girl up, seeing Anakin sure did. He was dressed in his usual attire that he had been wearing for the past week, which didn't surprise the girl as she knew that he didn't pack many clothes when he left Tatooine.

She saw him within the crowd of people who were filing into the crematorium, that was a large dome building connect to a bridge that crossed over one of the many rivers that flowed through the Naboo capital. The Queen was the first inside, followed by Kirin's family, the dignitaries of the Republic, then lastly by the Jedi Council. Kirin moved herself to one of the stands, the one just behind the Queen, as she watched everyone find a spot around the body in the middle of the room. Prince Cal and Princess Noval moved to stand on the Queen's left side, and to the left of them was Chancellor Palpatine.

As the Jedi Council moved in, Obi Wan took a stand to the right of Queen Amidala, but stood left to Boss Nass, while the other council members moved to the back of the room. It made sense for Obi Wan to be at the front, since this was his master, as Anakin had told Kirin on one of their days out. Said boy took a spot right besides Kirin, his body positioned just a bit to the side of Obi Wan, who was in front of him. The Princess couldn't get a word out fast enough as the cremation began right away, with no warning.

-

A few words were said for the man, whose body was burning to ashes, but for most of the time it was silent, besides for the crackling sounds of the flame. Kirin knew she dare not speak a word, for her father would surely punish her. But obviously a certain boy didn't have that worry.

"What will happen to me now?" Anakin asked quietly for Obi Wan to hear, but enough for Kirin to overhear.

"The council have been told of your heroic deeds and have granted me permission to train you." Obi Wan said as he turned slightly towards Anakin. "You will be a Jedi, I promise."

A shiver ran up Kirin's spine as she listened in on their conversation. It was now official that the boy would become a Jedi. Anakin visibly gulped, as the two males went back to being silent as they continued to watch the cremation.

The girl wanted to congratulate the boy on his acceptance into the Jedi Order, but knew this was neither the time nor place. She snuck a glance at the youngling, who was doing a poor job at hiding his sadness. When Kirin had given her condolences to the boy on one of their days out, he had told her that this death didn't really affect him, as he didn't know Master Qui-Gon for that long. But Kirin could sense that it did exactly the opposite.

Kirin senses started to alert to watchful eyes on her. Anakin cocked his eyebrow at the girl as he watched her glance over both of her shoulders.

"What's the matter?" He whispered, looking around the room himself. The Princess just shook her head, deciding to let it go for now as most of the room was too dark for her to make out their faces. She didn't feel any malicious intent from the source, though it was still there at the back of her mind.

-

"There's no doubt the mysterious warrior was a Sith." Windu commented looking over at Master Yoda. The elder Jedi nodded in agreement.

"Mmm. Always two there are." Yoda added. "No more, no less. A master and an apprentice."

"But which was destroyed? The master or the apprentice?" Master Windu asked. Neither knew for sure and so the topic was dropped, for they had other pressing matters to discuss.

"You believe the Princess to be strong with the Force, Master Yoda?" Windu asked, as both of their gaze shifted to the girl. They noticed that she must have sensed them, as she tried to find the source of her discomfort.

"Doubt, I do not. Mmm. Spoke with her grandfather, I did. Speak with her father, we will." Yoda said as his gaze stayed fixated on the girl. He watched as Skywalker had whispered something to the girl, causing her to shrug at him.

Master Yoda had noticed the friendliness of both her and Anakin over the course of the day. They always seemed to be near each other, and from what Obi Wan had told him about their little escapade over the past week, seems to prove that they were starting to become very close. Which is already bad in itself, what with Anakin about to become a Jedi, but if the Princess is also to join the Order, their bond must be severed, for fear that it could lead to attachment.

"I can't imagine that the Prince will take it well. Though he has been respectful to the Order, he has never been a firm believer in the Force, at least, not like his father." The taller Jedi pondered. The smaller Master just hummed, anticipating his next meeting with the girl.

-

Days passed before Kirin saw Anakin again.

After the cremation of Obi Wan's late master, her father was quick to stick CorSec officers onto her. Unfortunately for Kirin, the King did bring some of his Security officers with him, and had enough to spare on the duty of watching the Princess. Day after day had been nothing but Kirin staring out windows while wishing she could be doing anything but, and this time there was no Anakin to bail her out.

Four days had passed to be exact, since she saw the boy in the Crematorium, and ever since he was assured that he would become a Jedi, he had not left Obi Wan's side. The last she had heard even a mention of his name, was when her Father was giving her mother a briefing of his meeting with the Queen, and how the boy had said something to Padmé to make her laugh almost childishly, which was something Kirin's father had never seen from the Queen of Naboo.

The only thing that made her days bearable, was the friendship she made with the officers that were tasked with watching over her. They were on quarterly rotation, so she got a few hours in with a few of them, mostly talking about the current affairs back on her home world. There was one officer that Kirin was particularly happy to see. Director Novar the highest ranking Officers in CorSec, and was a childhood friend of Kirin's father.

The House of Novar were a prominent family in Corellia, and were always closely linked with the Royal family, due to their service to the Corellian Empire over the many generations. As much as Kirin wanted to hug the woman, she knew that there were boundaries that she needed to keep. She couldn't just go around hugging the Director of the Corellian Security Forces, especially when said Director was in the presence of her lower ranking officers.

Just like the many generations before her, Tyria Novar took over her father's Director role at a young age, and served the Royal family to the best of her abilities, and then some. She grew up at the man's side, learning the ins and outs of CorSec, joined the academy and worked her way up, before she was able to take over for him. On the way, she made friends with the lonely Prince during her almost eternal time at the Corellian Palace, and from there they had been friends ever since.

She was tall, with long brown hair that she kept in a high ponytail. She wore a cloak over her uniform, which wasn't as heavily covered in medals as her formal wear usually was.

"Hello, young Princess." Tyria greeted as she began to remove her gloves and took a seat in the room. She made herself comfortable, pulling out a datapad and began browsing it's content.

"Hello, Director Novar." Kirin said formally. The Director looked over at the girl sitting at the desk, staring out the window, obviously bored out of her mind. She was sympathetic to the young girl, seeing the resemblance of her father when he was her age. 

Though she was never much of a talker, she decided to try and start a conversation, for Kirin's sake.

"Desra was begging me to bring him." Tyria started. At the mention of the name, Kirin spun around in her seat.

"Desra! Aw man, he should've come."

"Well-" Tyria chuckled. "It's pretty hard for him right now, he'll soon be joining the academy, and I made sure his father kept him up to date with his studies."

Just like Tyria, her son Desra was destined to succeed from his mother, when the time came. Which also meant that he would be working along side Kirin when she becomes Queen.

Kirin basically grew up knowing Desra, and though they didn't get to spend a lot of time as they used to, with him preparing for the Academy and Kirin with her Royal studies - they would always remain close friends.

Desra was what other kids called pudgy. He was big for his age, but Kirin never teased him about it, besides, his mother always said that it was just baby fat, and that he would soon grow out of it. He was kind, but was bullied a lot by the other kids. Kirin was his only friend and vice versa.

"I wish father would send me to the academy. I can't wait til I grow up, then I won't be locked away all the time." Kirin grumbled, thinking about how her father had served time in CorSec Services, a common thing with the male heirs of the family. It sounded very appealing for the bored girl, despite knowing how hard the training was, anything was better than sitting in her home on Corellia everyday, listening to her tutor recite the Corellian Empire's history for the third time.

"Don't worry Princess, one day you'll be able to do what ever your heart desires." Tyria said with a small smile. "Trust me, you'll be wishing you could come back to these much simpler times in your life."

Kirin just scoffed at the older female.

"No way."

"Hmm. We'll see." Tyria concluded with a knowing smirk set on her face.

"Aren't you a little too high up the rankings to be left to such menial tasks like this." Kirin changed the subject instantly. Whenever she saw Tyria smile like that, she always knew the older woman was going to be right in the end.

"Your father decided to let me have a break, this is a nice change of pace, though there is still a lot of work to do." She gestured at her datapad.

"Oh." Kirin said, a bit disappointed. It's not that the Princess didn't like Tyria, it's just that she was a stickler for the rules, unlike her officers. Just the other day, Kirin was able to convince one of them to take her roaming around the palace. She did it in hopes of crossing paths with Anakin, and getting him to help her ditch the guard, but to no avail.

-

Hours passed and it was coming close for the usual rotation of babysitters, as Kirin liked to call them, when a call came through on the Director's communicator.

"Yes, your Highness, she's right here with me." Tyria spoke into the device. Kirin was too busy drawing on some scraps of paper that the older woman had on her, and so was surprised when said woman placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You have been summoned to your father. We must hurry, as he said it was most urgent." Tyria stated, guiding the small girl towards the doorway, where two CorSec officers saluted their Director. She dismissed both of them, explaining that she was taking the Princess to an important meeting, and continued on towards their meeting spot.

The walk was swift and quiet, coming upon a meeting room that Kirin had been in once before. It was the same room that Padmé had shown the young Princess to, which held her parents inside.

The older woman opened the door for the girl, gently nudging her inside, before closing the door behind her. Kirin was confused as she looked at the door, before she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. The Princess recognizes the sound as her father, and instantly turned to face the man, one of the many faces in the room.

He sat with a frown, as he urged her further into the room. Kirin did as he commanded, and walked towards the center of the semi-circle that they had created with their chairs. As she came into view of all the people sitting around, she came to recognize some familiar faces.

She knew the obvious people, like her father and grandfather, who sat to the right of the old man, Chancellor Palpatine. Opposite to their seating arrangements were the three Jedi Knights, Master Yoda, Windu and the young Obi Wan. Sitting in between them all was Queen Amidala herself, flanked on either sides by her handmaidens, one who Kirin particularly remembered. The last person Kirin came to see was a boy standing, hands behind his back, next to Obi Wan.

Kirin looked over at Anakin with a smile, but the boy did not return the gesture, instead looking anywhere but the girl. Kirin frowned, turning her attention back to her father, knowing that something was definitely wrong. She tried to remember everything that she had done in the last few days, anything that may have landed her in trouble without her even knowing. 

Nothing came to mind, she had been on her best behavior since they had put CorSec onto her. But her father didn't just frown at her like this unless she had done something, and the longer Kirin stood there, the more things started to come together.

Her father would never punish her for something in front of everyone like this for something insignificant - he preferred to keep family matters private. But with the way that Anakin was avoiding her gaze, and how the Jedi Knights were studying her very closely, she knew - felt -that her little secret was out. Her father was about to speak, when he was cut off by another voice in the room.

"I sense you know why you are here. Hmm."


End file.
